Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Madsen was, to me, one of cinema's great atmosphere-shifters; the temperature of a scene dropped the moment he walked in. His Tarantino work, especially that infamous ear scene in Reservoir Dogs, remains seared into my memory. Learning he was also a published poet reframed the whole menace for me, hinting at something tender underneath the danger. The Chicago-bred face and that gravel-voiced cool made him a master of slow-burn dread rather than flashy heroics. His passing in 2025 genuinely saddened me. I have a soft spot for actors who command attention through quiet threat, and he was among the very best at it.
Overview
Michael Søren Madsen (September 25, 1957 – July 3, 2025) was an American actor. He was widely known for starring in Quentin Tarantino's films such as Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), and The Hateful Eight (2015).
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Michael Madsen
- Name (Japanese)
- マイケル・マドセン
- Reading
- まいける・まどせん
- Born
- September 25, 1957 (age 68)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rooster
- Origin
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / actor / film producer / poet
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Evanston Township High School
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Film actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.